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• Best Management Practices for Storing and Applying Poultry Litter Dan L. Cunningham, Casey W. Ritz and William C. Merka, Extension Poultry Scientists, University of Georgia.

• Composting Dead Poultry An acceptable system of disposal for dead birds is essential to any well run poultry farm operation. Moreover, Virginia law requires that poultry producers have an approved means for disposing of dead birds. There are generally two categories of disposal problems: (1) Normal mortality, which is typically about 0.1 percent per day, but fluctuations up to 0.25 percent per day are not uncommon, and (2) Whole flock disposal. Author: Eldridge R. Collins, Jr., Extension Agricultural Engineer, VA Tech.

• Composting Layer Mortalities: An egg layer operation can successfully initiate composting as a means of managing dead birds by using the ingredient ratios with straw or hay as noted in Table 1. Once a supply of secondary compost is generated, this compost can be recycled as an ingredient to replace both manure and straw as noted by the recipe in Table 2. Water may need to be added because of the dry nature of recycled compost.

• Composting Poultry Carcasses Current methods for the disposal of poultry carcasses include hauling to a rendering plant, incineration, burial, or composting. Rendering plants are rapidly decreasing in number and of those that remain, many do not want to process poultry mortality. Unless proper equipment is used, incineration may cause air pollution. The fuel requirement for incineration is expensive also. Disposing of carcasses in the ground can result in water pollution. Composting therefore, appears to be the logical solution for many poultry operations. By: Dick Adams, Purdue University; Cal Flegal, Michigan State University; Sally Noll, University of Minnesota.

• Composting Poultry Mortalities Burying dead birds in disposal pits is a common practice for poultry growers. Composting has been developed as an alternative method of using dead birds in a more environmentally sound manner. The composting process converts dead birds into a brown humus-like material that can be spread on the land for crop utilization and soil improvement. This relatively inexpensive method of composting dead birds is gaining acceptance throughout the poultry industry. By: Bill Merka, Mike Lacy, Stan Savage and Larry Vest, Extension Poultry Scientists; and Cecil Hammond, Retired Extension Engineer, University of Georgia.

• Composting Poultry Mortality by U of Idaho course material very well done presention.

• Dead Poultry Disposal By: John Carey and Fred Thornberry, Texas A&M.

• Storing and Handling Broiler and Turkey Litter Application of livestock and poultry manure on land has been a time-honored, convenient disposal method that benefits the soil system. Overall, Virginia agriculture uses more than a million tons of chemical fertilizer nitrogen (N) annually. Manures can provide about 45% of this amount, or about 28% after allowing for storage and handling losses. The amount of loss depends on the method of handling and management involved. In recent years, large concentrations of poultry on small parcels of land have made the manure disposal problem more critical. When nutrients from manure, or commercial fertilizers, exceed the ability of crops to utilize them, surface runoff and groundwater pollution problems develop. This leaflet will outline management steps to take advantage of the fertilizer value of your manure and litter while minimizing potential damage to Virginia's water resources. Author: Eldridge R. Collins, Jr., Extension Agricultural Engineer, VA Tech.